The invention relates to water heaters, and more particularly to water heaters including arrangements for reducing or limiting the temperature of the outgoing hot water.
It is known to provide in a water heater a plug having a cold water inlet and a hot water outlet. The cold water inlet is typically connected to a dip tube which extends to the bottom of the water tank. The hot water outlet delivers hot water from the tank to a network of pipes for delivery to a tap or taps usually in coordination with a parallel network of pipes that deliver cold water to the tap or taps. In the conventional water heater, the cold water inlet and hot water outlet are completely independent except for communication with the tank.
It is also known in the art to provide a mixing valve connected between the cold water inlet pipe and the hot water outlet pipe remote from or immediately adjacent the water heater. Such a valve includes a thermostatic device operable to detect the temperature of the water in the hot water pipe and to introduce cold water into the hot water pipe when the hot water temperature is too high, thereby reducing the temperature of the hot water delivered and the attendant risk of scalding someone using the hot water tap.